Rupee loses ground as US-China trade optimism lifts dollar

The local currency lost ground today on account of rise in the US dollar and gain in crude oil prices.

The dollar was firm following a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday that US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had considered easing tariff imposed on Chinese imports, though a Treasury spokesman later denied the report.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was a shade higher at 96.088 after briefly rising to a near two-week high of 96.264 during the previous session.

Oil prices rose on Friday after a report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries showed its production fell sharply last month.

International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were up 45 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $61.63 per barrel.

Meanwhile, foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 90.10 crore on a net basis Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors were net buyers to the tune of Rs 304.27 crore, provisional data showed.

In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds up 0.05 percent to 7.28 percent from its previous close of 7.27 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.